Attachments for vehicles

ABSTRACT

An attachment for a vehicle such as a truck and comprising a frame structure for mounting behind the driver&#39;&#39;s cabin and which can be extended to one side of the vehicle, a vertical post mounted at the outer end of the frame structure and having a retractible foot portion for engagement with the ground, the post serving to mount an excavator bucket or like attachment and being rotatable about its axis and tiltable in the plane of the frame structure.

O United States Patent [1 1 1111 3,780,891 Steiner Dec. 25, 1973 [54]ATTACHMENTS FOR VEHICLES 3,501,031 3/1970 Whitfield 214/75 H inventorHubert Steiner 3,027,029 3/1962 Clarke 214/501 Newcastle-under-Lyme,England FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 73 Assigneez Steiner LimitedLongton, 352,811 4/1961 Switzerland 212/35 R Stoke-on-Trent, England MPrimary Examiner-Gera1d Forlenza [22] F'led: Sept 1971 AssistantExaminer-John Mannix 21 APPL 130,5 Attorney-Alan H. Levine ForeignApplication Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Sept. 26, 1970 Great Britain45,926/ An attachment for a vehicle Such as a truck and prising a framestructure for mounting behind the 52 us. c1. 214/138 (3, 212/145 drivetscabin and which can be extended to one Side [51] lnt.C1 B66f 9/00 of thevehicle, a vertical p mounted at the outer [58] Field of Search 214/501,78, 79, end of the frame structure and having a retractible 214/80, 138,132, H,'138 C; 212/35 R, foot portion for engagement with the ground,the post serving to mount an excavator bucket or like attach- [56]References Ci d ment and being rotatable about its axis and tiltable inUNITED STATES PATENTS the plane of the frame structure.

2,594,076 4/1952 Schlein 212/35 R 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SHZEI 2'[1F 4 PATENTED DEC 25 I975 PATENIEDBEBS 1975 Q 3. 780.891

SWEET 3 OF 4 one o I.

ATTACHMENTS FOR VEHICLES The invention relates to attachments forvehicles enabling loading, unloading, excavating or other operations tobe carried out.

The invention provides an attachment for a vehicle comprising a framestructure adapted for attachment to the vehicle and capable of beingextended to one side of the vehicle, the frame structure carrying avertical post having a foot portion engageable with the ground and arotatable upper portion adapted to receive a jib structure, and meansfor tilting the post in the plane in which the frame structure isextendable.

The attachment may be fitted to a truck, lorry, articulated or otherroad vehicle or to a railway vehicle for example. As applied to a roadvehicle the frame structure is preferably attached to the vehicle behindthe driver's cab but in front of the vehicle body.

The structure may be extended and retracted by hydraulic rams and thefoot portion may be capable of being lowered into contact with theground and raised by a further hydraulic ram.

In a preferred arrangement the frame structure comprises upper and lowertubular members securable to the vehicle chassis and further tubularmembers slidably located within the first-mentioned members andextendable and contractible by means of hydraulic rams housed withinthem, said post being pivotally connected to the two inner tubularmembers and the hydraulic rams being independently controllable toenable tilting of the post.

The jib structure may carry an excavator bucket, grab, boring tool orother equipment suited to the operations it is desired to perform. In apreferred form an excavator bucket is provided enabling the vehicle todig a trench, offload pipes into it and fill it in without anyadditional equipment being required. The tiltable mounting of the postenables trenches to be dug in sloping ground at right angles to theslope, thereby reducing the excavating required, and hence the timeinvolved, compared with digging a vertical trench in such ground.

Hydraulically operated slewing gear may be provided to rotate the jibstructure and telescopic stabilizers. may be positioned between the postand the vehicle.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described. by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is ageneral perspective view of a vehicle with a conventional tipping bodyshown in broken lines, and having an attachment according to theinvention fitted to it;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation of part of the attachment looking fromthe rear of the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the equipment looking from the side of thevehicle; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view.

Referring to the drawings, the vehicle itself is.of known type having achassis 10, wheels 11, a tipping body 12 and a driver's cab 13. Thevehicle is fitted with a conventional hydraulic tipping mechanism 14 forthe body and the hydraulic equipment of the present invention may beoperated from this existing hydraulic sys tern.

Behind the cab 13 but in front of the body 12 a horizontal framestructure is mounted on the chassis 10. The frame structure consists oftwo parallel telescopic members, one vertically above the other. Theupper member comprises an outer tube 15 having a closed end 16 carryinga bracket 17 to which a ram cylinder 18 is connected. A ram 19 works inthe cylinder and is connected at 20 to an inner tube 21 which is in turnpivotally connected by a pin 22 to an outer tube 25 of a vertical post.The lower member of the boom structure is similarly constructed,comprising an outer tube 15a having a closed end carrying a bracket 17ato which a ram cylinder 18a is connected. A ram 19a works in thecylinder and is connected at 20a to an inner tube 21a pivotallyconnected by a pin 22a to the tube 25. The brackets which connect theframe structure to the vehicle chassis are indicated at 24.

The vertical post comprises independent upper and lower parts, thelatter including, in addition to the outer tubular member 25, an innertubular member 26 forming an extensible leg carrying a bottom plate orfoot 26a. The leg can be lowered and raised by a hydraulic ram (notshown) located within the post, and is shown in an extended position inbroken lines in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 also shows the post in an-inclinedposition used when operating on sloping ground, the inclination beingachieved by extending the ram 19a by a greater extent than the ram 19.FIG. 1 shows the boom extended to the side of the vehicle and in avertical position.

The upper part of the vertical post comprises a fixed inner tube (notshown) enclosed within a rotatable outer tube 32 which can be slewedthrough about 270 by hydraulically-operated slewing gear 33 (seeespecially FIG. 4). The tube 32 is provided with brackets 34, 35 whichcarry a jib structure 36 (FIG. 1) and an excavator bucket 37. Telescopicstabilizers 38 are connected to the post by connections 39 on the outertube 25, the opposite ends of the stabilizers being anchored pivotallyto the chassis at 40.

In its retracted position the post is neatly located between the cab 13and the body 12 of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 4. When extended, thepost is brought into a position sufficiently far from the vehicle toincrease considerably the facilities for loading and unloading by meansof the jib structure and bucket, and for digging trenches alongside thevehicle. The tiltable nature of the post also enables trenching to becarried out on sloping banks or other ground not level with that onwhich the vehicle is standing. Using the attachment, a load of pipesections may be carried to a site, a trench dug, the pipes unloaded oneat a time into the trench and the trench filled in again without anyadditional equipment. being required. Any excess soil can also be loadedon to the vehicle and removed from the site. If desired the leg 26 maybe fitted with a wheel or wheels, preferably spring loaded so that thevehicle may move slowly forwards while trenching or the like withoutraising the leg.

Control of the hydraulic equipment may be effected by means of a groupof control levers or the like, preferably mounted in the drivers cab,operating a system of valves in accordance with normal hydraulicspractice.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the invention.For example the slewing gear and the construction of the post and framestructure could be altered, and the post may be fitted with a bucketgrab, boring tool, crane hook or other requipment to enable diferentoperations to be carried out.

The attachment could also be fitted to other types of 3. vehicleincluding articulated road vehicles and railway wagons.

I claim:

1. A vehicle fitted with a loading and unloading attachment comprising aframe structure mounted on the vehicle and including an upright post,means for moving said post bodily in a direction transversely of thevehicle from an out-of-use position to an extended position at one sideof the vehicle; in both of which postions the post is upright, aretractable ground-engaging foot carried by said post, an upper portionof said post being rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the post andcarrying a jib structure, and means for tilting the post, with respectto the vehicle and when the post is extended, in the transverse plane inwhich it moves during its travel to said extended position so that thefoot may be properly oriented to engage a sloping ground surface.

2. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein said frame structurecomprises upper and lower tubular members securable to the vehiclechassis and further tubular members slidably located within thefirstmentioned members and extendable and contractible by means ofhydraulic rams housed within them, said post being pivotally connectedto the two inner tubular members and the said means for tilting the postbeing independently controllable hydraulic rams.

3. An attachment according to claim 1 including hydraulically operatedslewing gear coupled to the upper portion of said post to rotate sameabout its axis.

4. An attachment according to claim 1 including telescopic stabilizersconnected to said post and adapted for connection to the vehicle.

1. A vehicle fitted with a loading and unloading attachment comprising aframe structure mounted on the vehicle and including an upright post,means for moving said post bodily in a direction transversely of thevehicle from an out-of-use position to an extended position at one sideof the vehicle, in both of which postions the post is upright, aretractable ground-engaging foot carried by said post, an upper portionof said post being rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the post andcarrying a jib structure, and means for tilting the post, with respectto the vehicle and when the post is extended, in the transverse plane inwhich it moves during its travel to said extended position so that thefoot may be properly oriented to engage a sloping ground surface.
 2. Anattachment according to claim 1 wherein said frame structure comprisesupper and lower tubular members securable to the vehicle chassis andfurther tubular members slidably located within the first-mentionedmembers and extendable and contractible by means of hydraulic ramshoused within them, said post being pivotally connected to the two innertubular members and the said means for tilting the post beingindependently controllable hydraulic rams.
 3. An attachment according toclaim 1 including hydraulically operated slewing gear coupled to theupper portion of said post to rotate same about its axis.
 4. Anattachment according to claim 1 including telescopic stabilizersconnected to said post and adapted for connection to the vehicle.